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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the incident at RAF Fairford in the UK — used by the US military — "clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor".
Five men who were arrested on suspicion of terror offences near the base were released on bail on Monday.
The men - all UK nationals in their 20s who live in London - had been arrested under the Explosives Act and on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act, the BBC reported.
Marco Rubio told Fox News’ "Hannity" programme that it was clear a "foreign actor" had been involved.
Without providing evidence or giving further details, he told the TV show: "I have to be careful, there are some things I cannot say on the air for a lot of different reasons. Suffice it to say, that what happened, what almost happened, what could have happened, in the UK over the weekend, is a very serious situation. It’s one that clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor."
"I won’t get into great detail about that yet. I do want to thank the authorities in the United Kingdom who have been very co-operative and on top of it. I know a lot of people are disturbed by the news that some of these people have been released on bail, some of the people are being investigated. Obviously we’re engaging with them on all of that. But suffice it to say, beyond that I would argue that they’ve been very co-operative and very helpful, on something that’s a very serious incident," he added.
Officers detained the men in the early hours of Sunday after they received a tip-off that three large white vans had been seen heading to the military airfield of RAF Fairford in the west of England.
British counterterrorism detectives have not yet publicly stated who they assessed was involved but a source familiar with the investigation said an Iranian-linked motive was considered the most likely, while a Russian sabotage operation or an Islamist plot were also being looked at as possibilities, according to Reuters.